April 25, 2013

McKenzie Upsets 13th Ranked Lowell: Anderson Notches Two Wins in One Day

McKenzie upset the Lowell Red Devils, twice, in Lowell last Thursday, April 11. In the first game, a District 3 League counter, the Eagles and Red Devils resumed a game that had started on April 5 and had to be postponed in the 6th inning due to rain. At the time, the Eagles held a 3-1 lead and Lowell was at the plate. By official rules, five completed innings constitute a game, and the Eagles had the lead at the end of five. However, since another inning had started but not completed, it was decided the Lowell team would be disadvantaged, therefore the game was postponed until Thursday, with play picking up where it had left off. Lowell scored a run in the bottom of the sixth, but the Eagles sealed the deal by scoring 3 runs in the 7th , holding the home Red Devils scoreless in their last at bats and winning 6-2. A second non-League game followed the first and the Eagles, flying high from the earlier victory, again sent the home team to the showers disappointed as they defeated the Red Devils 4-2. Senior Eagle pitcher Blake Anderson started on the bump in the first game and still had the lead when the game was postponed and thus earned the complete game victory. In the second game, fellow senior pitcher Victor Vidal started on the hill and left the game in a 2-2 situation, with Anderson relieving him. Since the Eagles scored two more runs securing the victory with Anderson pitching, the victory of that game also went with Anderson, giving him a rare two decisions in one day.

In the first contest, the Red Devils scored 1 run in the first inning and the Eagles matched that with one of their own in the second. Lowell added one run in the sixth and McKenzie responded with two more, thus setting the stage for Thursday’s resumption. Again, the Eagles finished the game with 3 runs in the seventh. Anderson struck out 7 Red Devils, walking only two batters, while scattering 5 hits and giving up the 2 runs, both earned. Lowell had one extra base hit, a double. Anderson helped himself at the plate as the senior drove in two runs on 1 hit in 4 plate appearances. Casey Mitchell lead the Eagles offensively as he hit 2-4, scored 1 run, drove in 1 RBI, and had McKenzie’s only stolen base. Teammate Bailey Adams also went 1-4 at the dish with a run scored. Nick Ringler hit a double while going 1-4 and also scored 1 run. Victor Vidal was 1-3 with a run scored and a RBI, and Josh Ness had the same stats for the game.

In the 4-2 non-League win, the Eagles started Victor Vidal on the mound. Vidal pitched four complete innings striking out 4 Lowell batters and walking 2 others. The Eagle pitcher gave up 2 doubles and 2 earned runs in the fourth. Blake Anderson took the hill in relief in the fifth inning and struck out 3 opposing batters, walked one and had one double hit off him. The Eagles scored 2 runs in the fifth and did not allow another Red Devil run thus earning the second victory of the afternoon and insuring Anderson’s second victory as well. Vidal led his team’s offensive attack as he was perfect at the plate going 3-3, driving in two runs, and scoring 1 himself. Casey Mitchell continued to hit well as he went 2-3 and scored 2 runs. Only two other Eagles had hits however, as Josh Ness went 1-3 and scored a run and Anderson who was 1-3 on the day and had one RBI. McKenzie batters struck out 6 times.

Eagles Rout Siletz, Earn Brief Possession of League Lead

The McKenzie Varsity Baseball Team’s westbound trip to the Coast was washed out in Siletz, Monday, April 15, but rescheduled 3 hours the same day to the East at Finn Rock and the change proved beneficial to the home Eagles as they defeated the Warriors 11-1 in six innings. With the win, McKenzie won its second League victory against no defeats and sat alone, at least briefly, at the top of the District 3 League standings. The hottest pitcher in the League currently, McKenzie’s Blake Anderson secured his third win in as many games as he pitched 5 innings of no-hit ball Monday, only relieved due to an intense impending Eagle schedule, who traveled to Crow on Wednesday and back home against Monroe on Friday. Victor Vidal pitched one inning in relief, yielding 2 hits, a hit batter and the lone Siletz run in the top of the sixth. The Eagles scored their first run in the bottom of the second inning, and then opened the flood gates in the third as they ran 7 more across the plate, putting the game out of reach for the visitors. Insurance runs came with 1 in the fifth and 2 more from a walk-off single by Josh Ness in the 6th resulting in the game called due to the 10 run mercy rule. In the third inning, McKenzie nailed down one of its season team goals by batting completely through the lineup in one inning. Blue Bloomer led off in the 3rd inning by hitting to the pitcher who tossed to first base for the first out. The next Eagle batter Bailey Adams drew a walk and advanced with Casey Mitchell’s single in the next at bat. Victor Vidal followed Mitchell with a 2 run double, and was driven in for a score by a Nick Ringler single. Siletz next walked Anderson who scored along with Ringler on a Ness single. The rally still wasn’t over as Jesse Eaton’s 2 run single scored a couple more. Eric Huffman was caught with a strikeout for the second Eagle out, setting up Bloomer’s opportunity to hit for the second time in the inning. Bloomer made the most of the moment, singling in Eaton. Mitchell grounded out to short stop to end the inning. For the game, Vidal went 4-4 at the plate with 2 runs and 2 RBIs. Ringler was also perfect at the dish at 2-2 and 3 runs. Ness earned a 2-3 appearance at the plate with 2 RBIs and 2 runs, Mitchell ended the day by going 2-4 at the plate with 1 run scored, Eaton was 1-2 and 2 RBIs, and Anderson helped his own cause by going 1-2 with 1 RBI.

McKenzie Loses to Oakridge in Slugfest

McKenzie and Oakridge, reminiscent of a couple late night brawlers, stood toe to toe, last Tuesday, April 16, slugging it out and the visiting Warriors were the last guy standing as they outlasted the Eagles ninth inning rally, defeating the home team 11-10. McKenzie drew blood first with a run in the bottom of the opening inning, but Oakridge answered immediately with 4 runs in the top of the second. The Eagles scored one more run in the 3rd, but Oakridge again responded with a run of their own in the top of four. Again the Eagles ran a run across the plate in the 5th to narrow the Warrior lead to 5-3, but Oakridge scored 3 runs in the top of the sixth. McKenzie tallied two in the bottom of the same inning but Oakridge again answered back with 3 in the top of the 7th inning. The Eagles almost made it back to tie the game, scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the 7th, but Oakridge managed to get the third out before McKenzie could score the tying run from third base. Blake Anderson, credited with the loss, was the starting pitcher for McKenzie going 5.2 innings, giving up 10 hits, 8 runs (4 earned), striking out 3 Warrior batters, while walking another 3. The Eagles Bailey Adams relieved Anderson and pitched 1.1 innings, accounting for 3 runs, all earned on 5 hits with 1 strikeout. The Eagle defense didn’t support its pitcher as well as hoped as McKenzie committed 5 errors. McKenzie’s offense tallied 11 hits for the day, but also struck out 8 times as a team. The Eagles did steal a total of six bases, with Victor Vidal and Adams successfully swiping two apiece. Vidal led his team by hitting safely 3 times out of 3 plate appearances, scoring 1 run and driving in two more runs. One of Vidal’s hits was a double. Casey Mitchell was 2-4 at the dish, also scoring 1 run. Nick Ringler went 1-1 on the day, scoring 2 runs, 3 RBIs, and hitting a double. Anderson had a two bagger as well while hitting 1-3, scoring 2 runs, with 1 RBI. Seth Burson was 1-1 with 2 RBIs and Blue Bloomer was 1-2 with 2 runs scored. Bailey Adams hit 1-5, scored 1 run, but struck out 3 times on the day.

Eagles Back on Track, Defeat Cougars 1-0

McKenzie traveled to Crow on Wednesday, April 17, and shut out the Cougars in a District 3 League game that kept the Eagles in the hunt for first place. The Eagles scored the only run of the game in the top of the 1st inning and made it hold up as starting pitcher Victor Vidal provided the quality win, striking out 16 Crow batters, while allowing one hit along with 6 walks. Crow’s starting pitcher, Toby Tripp, also had an outstanding day as he allowed only 4 hits and recorded 7 strikeouts. Vidal was equally paramount at the plate as he had 2 hits out of 3 appearances, and drove in Casey Mitchell for the winning margin. Mitchell had drawn a walk, stole second base, and Vidal’s hit scored him from second. Jesse Eaton went 1-2 at the plate, his hit a double. Nick Ringler had the only other Eagle hit as he was 1-3 on the day.

Dragons Clip Eagles Wings, 4-1

The game was rained out last Friday, April 19 at Finn Rock, but deemed playable in Monroe, so the Eagles boarded their short buses for the trip to the Valley. Monroe, perennially one of the State’s top teams, struck first with 3 runs in the 1st inning and added 1 run for insurance in the 4th to capture the win. McKenzie’s Bailey Adams scored the visitors only run of the game in the 3rd inning. Adams had drawn a walk and scored on a Casey Mitchell single. Victor Vidal had McKenzie’s only other hit of the day as he drilled a bases empty double. The Eagles (3-2), League leaders at the start of the week, fell into fourth place, a half game behind Lowell (4-2) and Monroe (4-2), who are tied for second place, and one game behind Oakridge (4-1), who sits alone in first place. Monroe struck out 14 Eagle batters to effectively shut down the Eagle offense. McKenzie’s defense, normally error free, committed two errors in the game. Blake Anderson was the starting and losing pitcher as he worked 6 innings, giving up the 4 runs (3 earned) on 4 hits, while striking out 5 Dragon batters and walking 1. A game scheduled Monday, April 22, with Oakland, currently ranked #1 in the 2A/1A OSAA State Baseball Rankings, was postponed due to a League conflict in Oakland’s schedule. The Eagles host Lowell at Finn Rock on Thursday, April 25, with the first pitch thrown at 4:30 pm.

King Finishes 4th at McKenzie Invite

McKenzie’s Sydney King placed 4th in the McKenzie Invite Golf Meet held at Tokatee Golf Course, last Thursday, April 18. Reedsport’s Monica Vaughn won the 18 hole Tournament with a score of 74 (36,38), 10 strokes ahead of teammate Madi Richardson, who placed second at 84. King played a 45 on the front nine and finished with 48 on the back nine for a final score of 93. In the Boys Tournament, Eagle senior golfer Caleb Scrivner finished with a score of 118.

McKenzie Track at Oakridge District 1 Regular Meet

The Eagle Girl’s Track team placed 3rd overall in the five team meet, scoring 75 pts. Glide won the meet with 151.5 pts., followed by Reedsport with 115 pts. Yoncalla took 4th place with 70.5 pts. and Oakridge finished 5th with 40 pts. McKenzie’s Peace Shepherd led her team as she captured 1st place in the Javelin with a throw of 111-04, a 2nd place ribbon in the Shot Put (28-05.00) and a 2nd place throw in the Discus (79-00). Makaila Hiddleston also had a fine day as she won the Shot Put with a 31-06.00 effort, took 4th in the Javelin (90-05) and 6th in the Discus (65-05). Shyla Harlan sprinted to a 3rd place finish in the 200 m. race with a time of 30.70, a 3rd place leap of 14-00.50 in the Long Jump, and a 6th place finish in the 100 m. (14.70). Mandy Goddard ran to a 3rd place finish in the 100 m. Hurdles and 15th place in the 100 m. (16.10). Haley Jackson ran to a 5th place time in the 200 m. race (31.70) and a 12th place tie in the 100 m. (15.80). Katey Totten finished her race in the 300 m. Hurdles in 5th place with a time of 58.10. The Eagles Angie Estep threw a 13th place mark in the Javelin (42-01) and ran to a 17th place finish in the 100 m. (16.20).

In the Boys Meet, McKenzie finished the day as a team in 5th place with a score of 68.5 pts. Glide won the five way meet with 152 pts., Reedsport was second with 98 pts., Yoncalla finished 3rd at 92 pts., and Oakridge was fourth with 91.5 pts. The Eagles Ethan Satchell finished the day in first place in the 3000 m. race with a time of 12:41.30. Satchell also placed 5th in the 800 m. race (5:27.60). Teammate Bailey Adams took home 2nd place honors in the 400 m. race (57.80) and a 5th place leap of 15-09.50 in the Long Jump. Dorian Dilley ran to a second place time in the 200 m. race (25.20) and captured 7th in the 100 m. race (12.70). Jon Mahody earned a 2nd place ribbon in the 800 m. race (4:34.00). Teammate Drew Hamlow finished his 400 m. race in 4th place (1:00.00), while Dylan Garr took 6th place in the same race (5:34.10) and also placed in a 4th place tie in the High Jump, with a height of 4-06.00. Nate Welch threw his discus for a 12th place mark, (34-08), and a 14th place throw in the Javelin (41-09). The Eagles 4X100 m. Relay team , comprised of Adams, Mahody, Dilley, and Hamlow finished in 2nd place with a time of 49.90.

McKenzie River Reflections